The Twelve Apocalypses: A Damned Soul's Path to the Abyss

We were all silent on the walk out of headquarters. I couldn't speak for the others, but there was a tension in my shoulders that just refused to go away. It felt like some enormous predator was staring me down, and the feeling fled only when I stepped outside.

Bronwynn immediately whirled around to glare at me.

"Of all the reckless stupidity," he snarled. "Making that claim in front of the general takes the cake! You do realize you are duty bound to follow through now, correct? Both of you. If you just choose to ascend without delay, he will hunt you down and punish you on principle."

"Is it really so bad?" I shot back, that spark of defiance still blazing inside me. "I don't want to have a regular ascension."

"We will discuss this later," Glaustro cut in, sounding utterly exhausted. "We got most of what we wanted out of that meeting. We can count that as a victory, at least."

The demon then turned to look at me, and the turmoil in his eyes gave me pause. I had never seen him look so genuinely concerned for someone else before.

"Promise me this, both of you: do not do anything on your own. Not yet. We really do need to talk. I'll explain everything, including the benefits of delaying your ascension. I have it on good authority we are going to be deployed again soon, and we can handle it all then. Regardless, you have a week or so at least to rest and recuperate from everything. Do so."

This sounded like a reasonable request. I exchanged a look with Mia to confirm, then said, "We will. And I promise. Though… any advice on how to spend that time?"

A hint of a smile swept across Glaustro's features, and he shook his head. "Young and reckless. There are no set barracks for individual units. Officers can organize things at their leisure and offer or even insist on shared housing, but plenty of legion soldiers choose to rent or purchase a home of their own. With the teleportation network and its cheap fees, it doesn't matter where you set up, even if it's in another layer. The summons would reach you through your brand anywhere within the Abyss, too."

"Speaking of… how do I get to Passion, exactly?" I asked.

"You want to travel to a different layer right now?" Glaustro asked, slowly and with great intent.

"Yes? I need armor."

"You will travel to a different layer… wearing those clothes, and lugging that crate?"

I flushed crimson, remembering what a sorry sight I was. My commander just shook his head again in exasperation.

"Find a bank. Get your souls. Buy some clothes, and then travel. Just approach any obelisk you see, and you'll be set. Now… I think it's time I get some rest myself."

The other demons agreed promptly and vanished after a few quick goodbyes. All our nerves were shot. I was getting by, thanks to sheer spite and ridiculous emotional highs that were probably a portent of ascension, but I had to admit I was running on fumes myself.

I did, however, feel rather awkward when I found myself standing there in the middle of a street, looking like a hobo and accompanied by a cat lady who seemed intent on following me around.

"So…" I trailed off awkwardly as I tried to maintain eye contact. Unfortunately for me, in true cat fashion, Mia just lazily blinked. I squared my shoulders. "Right. Well, how about that bank, then?"

It took a minute for us to find a bank. I tried to approach a few demons at first, but they didn't even break stride as they walked past me without a word. It was only when we ventured further into the absolutely massive city that we got lucky.

Once we left the military section of the city, we encountered fewer purposefully striding demons and more friendly street hawkers. These demons, for the low price of purchasing their wares, were more than happy to give directions.

The problem was, whatever uncomfortable effect made me want to squirm in my own skin also affected my taste buds. When I paid for our street food, some kind of meat wrapped in pastry, the first taste felt like I had bitten into a rotting, maggot-filled corpse.

I didn't throw up on the spot, but I definitely made a face, which earned me the ire of a previously friendly stall keeper.

At least he still gave us directions. Frostily, but he did.

A few minutes later, we were walking into a stately building. It reminded me of the bank I visited way back in Fortress City 12, the city of my first invasion. Except this time, the teller was helpful without any creepy flirting! A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, especially since I didn't look like someone who belonged in a bank right that minute.

With our funds secured, the Abyss was our oyster. Or more accurately, our oyster was a humble little shop that had needle and thread on a sign hanging outside its door. The polite demoness we found inside was more than happy to take our measurements and our currency. Twenty souls later, I had a full outfit of mundane clothing.

They even sold shoes, which I was immensely thankful for. The streets didn't look grimy, but I was a mortal in a city of demons. I didn't want to catch some weird disease just because I was traipsing around barefoot.

All haste aside, shopping for clothes was actually a fascinating experience. I was shown a whole host of garments in a dizzying number of styles, and when I asked about their size, my answer was amused laughter. The shop owner snapped her fingers, and with a wave of mana, every article of clothing in the shop adjusted itself perfectly to my size.

I didn't question her after that. I just hunted down a beautiful black shirt with silver buttons and trim, a pair of sturdy pants that resembled jeans, and several pairs of underwear, just in case.

The shoes I ended up with resembled hiking boots from my past life. Admittedly, I didn't pay much attention to them. I knew that I would be getting replacements as soon as I found my way to Yules, so I just picked whatever looked comfortable enough for the time being.

Of course, compared to the unsettling effect outside, everything seemed comfortable. This store, like the restaurant and bank and every other establishment, was shielded from the strange discomfort of this Abyssal layer.

But it was more than that. It had to be magic. I refused to accept any other explanation. Every article of clothing or shoes I ran my fingers over were superbly made and felt like soft, welcoming heaven.

The irony did not escape me.

I wasn't the only one who did some shopping. By the time I was done being picky and looking for clothes that felt as 'modern' as I could manage to find, Mia was already standing by the counter. The owner ushered her into a changing room, and a few minutes later, the cat lady emerged.

I flushed. I couldn't help it.

I had seen Mia in armor, and I had seen her in what could be generously called 'casual wear.' Actually, when we woke up in that plaza, I had seen far more of her than propriety said was okay. In spite of that, I had rarely ever paused to take her in.

She had chosen a dress. A midnight-blue dress that fell down her body in waves and rippled with every movement she made, briefly accenting her figure. The dress had a lot to accent. The garment even had a hole for her tail, which was now idly swaying side to side, freed of awkwardly fitted clothes and armor. Somehow, her animal features only enhanced her appearance, instead of making her look odd or unnatural to my eyes.

I had to force myself to stop staring and focus on making my own purchases.

The last order of business we handled in that store was to ask for directions yet again. If we had a week of free time and were allowed to visit other layers, then I refused to spend my mini vacation in the Torment layer.

Thankfully, teleportation obelisks seemed to be remarkably common. We were soon standing next to one in a small park. Having no better idea of what to do, I gingerly laid a hand on the device.

Instantly, information exploded into my mind. Suggestions, inquiries, and even what I was pretty sure were demonic ads swamped me. It took some doing, but I eventually managed to find a weird mental toggle that my consciousness insisted would act as an 'assistant.'

I triggered it, and most of the information clawing for my attention faded instantly.

The words just unveiled themselves to me. It almost felt like they were visible, rather than a figment of my imagination.

Not wanting to make a spectacle of myself, I covered my surprise and thought very hard in response.

I need to travel to a different layer.

Somehow, the words sounded mocking. I tried to sound more authoritative.

Amahis Armory, layer of Passion.

Yes.

Company. There are two of us.

I was honestly shocked. Being used to the cost of travel in my past life, I was expecting to be ripped off. Hell, a taxi would have been way more expensive than a measly ten souls.

When I realized where my mind was going, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Cheap… yeah, right.

Ten souls equaled ten lives, snuffed out and denied an afterlife forever. And there I stood, thinking how low the price was.

I paid, of course. What else was I supposed to do?

The obelisk rippled, the fabric of reality cracked, and a portal opened right in front of us. I urged Mia through quickly, then stepped forward myself.

The change was as stark as it was immediate.

One moment, existence was suffering itself, torment in every waking or sleeping moment. The next, the air felt lighter and even richer, like it carried a promise of growth and prosperity.

Energy thrummed through me. My mind was more agile. I felt emotions bubble up within me, sensations I hadn't experienced so purely in a long time.

I wanted to run, to laugh, to cry, to embrace everything life had to offer.

I wanted to pursue magic with a single-minded obsession that only those truly awed by it could boast.

I wanted to better myself, to grow and grow until every moment was a celebration of progress and sheer, unbridled passion.

I stumbled and almost lost my footing before someone's hold on the back of my shirt made me jerk back into place.

"What?" I looked back to find a squinting Mia giving me the stink-eye. "What happened?"

"You tried to run away without a word," she informed me, pointedly refusing to let me go.

"Sorry, I just… this place feels amazing!" I gushed, unable to contain myself. I needed to tell her all about exactly how amazing the layer made me feel, right then and there. "It's…"

"Nice. It's nice," Mia cut me off, still squinting at me. "Now, we're going to the armory you wanted. You can start moving, but don't think I won't get rougher with you if you try to wander off again. But we need to find someone to ask where the shop is first."

I tried to wander off. I tried to wander off several times, in fact. I couldn't help it. I would be totally focused on our goal, and then a flight of fancy would come out of nowhere, gripping me with such strength that I just had to pursue it.

Mia pulled me back the first time, pinched the back of my neck with her claws the second, and started bonking me over the head from the third onwards, as soon as she noticed I was starting to get distracted. In the end, a distance that we should have covered in ten minutes took about forty, and it was entirely my fault.

I was still trying to shake off the layer's effects, with only middling success, when I finally caught sight of the store. It was just as I remembered it. Instantly, my mind was wholly occupied by the thought of the store, and I lunged forward. I did tug a bit on Mia in my haste, but at least I now had my eyes on the prize.

I burst through the door with a massive smile.

"Hello! Anybody home? I'm here for some armor!"

I giggled, both because I was being too loud and found it unbearably funny for some reason, and because I was finally back in the store. I had wanted so badly to come back for proper demonic armor. Something like manners or common sense weren't going to get in my way.

"Oh, oh dear. Well, he's truly drunk on passion, isn't he?"

Recognizing the voice, I turned my beaming grin on the demonic shopkeeper.

"Hi! It's been forever! Let me just — urk!"

I tried to rush to the demoness, intending, in my infinite wisdom, to go in for a hug. Thankfully, I didn't even get a step closer to her before my collar dug into my throat painfully, cutting off both my stupidity and my airflow. Mia had switched her hold to the back of my collar at some point, and was now giving me a distinctly unimpressed look.

"You keep hold of him. I'm not letting him near my daughter like that. And I'll engage the purification wards. We don't typically need them, but…" the demoness trailed off, seeming amused rather than angry as she headed behind the counter.

"You mean Yules? Is she here? Hey, Yules, I'm here to—"

I was in the middle of shouting towards the back of the shop when the wards snapped into place. Instantly, some of the bubbliness coursing through my brain faded. I was left blinking like an owl.

With every passing moment, more of my sanity reasserted itself. By the time Tibath made her return, I was doing my best impression of a wet kitten getting carted around by its mother. With Mia's hand still on my collar, the image fit pretty well.

Of course, to add insult to my injury, a younger copy of Tibath emerged from the back also, looking mildly confused.

"Was someone shouting my name?" The tall, muscular, shapely demoness looked around, then her eyes fixed on me and widened. "It's you!"

"Yes, it's him. Now, tell me, what were you about to say to my daughter before the wards triggered?" Yules' mother teased, much to the girl's continued befuddlement.

I got so red that I was giving their own skin color a run for its money, but at least this made Tibath erupt into laughter instead of getting me booted out.

Passion… Never again.